Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

Now you may be wondering, “Sarah! What is with your blog posts? Why are you giving us your theories and rambling nonsense? Why don’t you just talk about cooking or how delicious everything is, like other food bloggers?”

That is what my introspection was about. I frequent other blogs for recipes, ideas, and trends, and I love the individual voice in each one. That’s the perk of blogging versus other writing outlets.

Blogging is all about the writers and their thoughts. There’s no character or assigned topic to stick to. Whatever the blogger wants, that’s the post. For professionalism’s sake, most upstart food bloggers talk about—shocker—food. They discuss the recipe, how to prepare it, the story or nostalgia behind it, or the response of test eaters. It’s an easy, entertaining read with insight into the featured recipe.

And that boggles my mind. For me, some foods don’t have a story or crazy instructions to explain. They all come down to “I was craving this thing, so I made it a bunch of times until it was good then I ate it. You should eat it too.” It’s difficult to fluff that into an original post people will actually read.

For example, most bloggers would post about how they celebrated their birthday. I spent the day reading library books and eat chocolate cupcakes (and it was fantastic.) Still, that would have my whole post. You understand my dilemma?

Bloggers don’t receive as much credit as they are due. People assume it’s easy to write, post, and get views but there’s so much more to it. I have a blog (actually two, if you are interested in books and writing) and it’s a challenge to post regularly. (I apologize profusely for the weeks that I missed. Also, my birthday was a month ago. Let’s not talk about that.)

Therefore, that is why I write about people stuck in ATM machines and left-handedness and how to adult and pet peeves and conspiracy theories. As much as I enjoy cooking and baking, I don’t always much to say for each recipe. That is the blunt truth. So I discuss my theories and ramblings. The side effect of being a writer is I better express myself in writing than speaking. So you, the reader, have a prominent view into my mind. And I put that on the Internet for anyone to see… I need to do more introspection.

Now you understand my writing topics, in case you were ever wondering. And you probably weren’t. Whatever. You know whether you like it or not.

We have another celebration: The Creative Palate has over 100 subscribers! This happened a while ago but it’s still important to mention. One hundred isn’t a lot by other blog standards, but it’s a big milestone for me. Thank you so much to everyone who subscribed! I seriously can’t believe there’s so many people interested in this blog. I appreciate your support so much. You truly made my birthday all the more special.

Now for the food talk (since I do actually discuss the recipe.) I love chocolate cake. I know it’s basic but it’s one of my favorite foods. It’s shocking I haven’t posted this recipe earlier, but I have tried. Cake with no gluten, dairy, and refined sugar is a challenge and baking is a science with so many variants to go wrong. One attempt of cupcakes left burnt chocolate rims around the trays and vinegar-tasting fudge in the holders. I’m still not sure how that happened.

However, after the long wait and many failed attempts, here are the chocolate cupcakes! They are light, chocolatey, and perfect for birthdays and other celebrations.

Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until well-blended and there are no lumps.

Spoon the batter into lined muffin tins.

Bake for 20–24 minutes until the tops spring back when touched and inserted toothpick into the cupcakes comes out clean.

Allow to cool and frost with the icing.

For the icing: Open the can of coconut milk, taking care not to mix or shake it. Scoop the layer of cream from the top and place in a chilled bowl. (Set aside the coconut milk for another use.) Blend the coconut cream with the cocoa powder, vanilla, and maple syrup until smooth. Spread or pipe onto the cupcakes